


The Truth

by EvertheOptimistWaywardAF



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Castiel/Dean Winchester One Shot, Fluff and Angst, Implied Saileen - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Short One Shot, Sorry guys this is a little sentimental
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23254255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvertheOptimistWaywardAF/pseuds/EvertheOptimistWaywardAF
Summary: A fight between Jack and Cas reveals the truth: Cas made a deal with the Empty.Based on the future episode of Supernatural "The Truth" and the current speculation around it.
Relationships: Destiel
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	The Truth

“Jack, you are being irresponsible!” Cas’s face was red with anger. “You can’t sacrifice yourself for the universe, it doesn’t make sense!”  
“I was destined for this! This is what my life is for!”  
“You weren’t born to die, Jack!”  
“It’s MY CHOICE!”  
“YOU DON’T GET A CHOICE! YOU’RE JUST A CHILD!”  
“If you really loved me, you would have let me die! YOU SHOULD’VE KILLED ME LONG AGO! I WISH I HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!”  
“YOUR MOTHER WANTED YOU TO HAVE A LIFE!”  
“AND SHE’S DEAD, AND SHE ISN’T COMING BACK AND IT’S MY FAULT! EVERYONE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF ME, AND I OWE THEM!”  
“YOUR LIFE IS IMPORTANT, JACK! YOU CAN’T TRADE IT AWAY!”  
“YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU TRADED YOUR LIFE FOR MINE!” Jack screamed. Cas stared at him, watching Jack pant, tears rolling down his face. Jack sobbed, covering his face, his shoulders shaking.  
“Cas…” Dean said softly. Cas turned in surprise. Sam and Dean were standing there, Dean in his robe, their faces bleary, hair messy, as if they had just gotten out of bed. Eileen was standing next to Sam, her eyes darting between Cas and Jack, her hair pulled back. Sam walked quietly over to Jack and knelt down beside him. Jack shuddered, pulling away.  
“Cas, are you okay? Sam said there was shouting,” Eileen said. She touched Cas’s shoulder nervously.  
“I’m sorry,” Cas said, making a fist and tracing it around his chest in a circle. Eileen shook her head slightly. Cas looked to Dean, who was still standing in the doorway, his eyes blank, out of focus.  
“What did Jack mean when he said you traded your life for his?” Dean said, finally connecting to reality. “Jack, what did you mean?”  
Jack looked up, his hand over his mouth, his eyes glistening as he looked at Cas with a look of absolute sorrow. He hadn’t meant to say it. Cas understood.  
“Jack isn’t a part of this. He just… overheard something he shouldn’t have,” Cas said. “I made Jack promise to keep my secret.”  
“That’s a lie,” Jack said, wiping tears away. “I let you do it. I should’ve stopped you.”  
“What are you talking about?” Sam asked. Jack looked at him sadly, then to Cas.  
“When we brought Jack back… I made a deal with the Shadow. The Empty. It was going to take Jack, so I made a deal. Jack will go to Heaven, and the Empty will let him go. And when I feel truly happy, the Empty is going to take me.”  
“No…” Sam said quietly.  
“It’s okay,” Dean said quietly, his eyes foggy. “We’ll figure this out.”  
“No. I’m old, Dean. I’ve lived so long, and my life is ending. I don’t want to live without you, and Sam, and all the people I love. These past eleven years have been the best years of my life. Jack, you need to live. You deserve so much more. I want you to live in a world without war, without pain, somewhere you can have a real life. Go to school. Live as long as you want. Do all the things you wanted to do. Find your own family. You don’t need me for that.”  
“I do need you. I love you.”  
“Love is different than need, Jack.”  
“You’re my dad,” Jack said quietly. “I’ll always need you.”  
“You don’t. You’re strong, and you’re smart, and most of all, you’re kind. You make me and your mother so proud, but you don’t need us to be smart or brave or powerful. You’ve always had that inside of you. I’ll be here as long as I can, but someday I’m going to go, and we’ll be sad, but we’re also going to remember all of the wonderful moments we spent together. The Shadow says that the Empty is an unending dream, and for some, that can be torture, but for me… I’ll be dreaming of all of you, this place, my home… my family. And I know that you all are going to be amazing, whether or not I am here.”  
Cas knelt down in front of Jack. He looked tenderly at Sam, a smile on his face.  
“I love you, dad,” Jack said quietly. He hugged Cas, closing his eyes, tears falling down his face. Sam clenched his jaw, embracing both Jack and Cas, holding onto the moment, relaying his emotions over and over in his mind with a strange feeling of finality.  
“I love you too,” Cas said quietly. 

Everyone went to bed. Cas sat down, his throat burning. He felt something in his chest, something undeniably different inside of him that he had never felt before. It was like freedom, like a bird flying above the ocean waves, burned feathers floating away to reveal the bright, clean new ones that had been lost long ago. His heart was soaring. He had dropped everything that had been weighing him down. Only one more thing was keeping him here, keeping him rooted and a few inches off the ground. He turned his head, seeing a slumped figure sitting in Dean’s favorite chair, a whiskey in hand, a grey robe brushing the floor.  
“You’re gonna be leaving then?” Dean asked gruffly. “Don’t give me that face. I’m not drunk. I haven’t even had a drink since yesterday.”  
“Did you drink water at least?”  
“Of course not. Water is gross,” Dean said. “It’s bland and it’s non alcoholic.”  
“You should drink water, Dean. Even I know how important it is for humans.”  
“Actually, I haven’t had alcohol since you got home,” Dean said. He stared at the glass. “When you’re away, I can’t last long. When you’re here, I don’t need it. It’s weird.”  
“Are you telling me that you’ve been drinking in front of Jack?”  
“I keep forgetting that you don’t like Jack drinking. ‘Deaaann, he’s three’! I had my first beer when I was like ten or something and I saved the freaking world. Although, Jack doesn’t like alcohol either. He’s like you. He does it to fit in. You do a lot of things to fit in, Cas. You’ve always been trying to be a human, to get what we’re about. I don’t think you really got it until you looked at me in that barn three years ago and you said “I love you”. Why did you never say it again?”  
“You never said it back,” Cas said.  
“Do you remember Lucifer’s crypt?”  
“Somewhat.”  
“After I said I need you… I thought something crazy. Something I had never thought before. We were always just friends. Really, really great friends. You were my everything, but it took me to loose you just too many times to realize what I wanted to say, but I never said it. I was so stupid. When you left, I pushed it down. And I pushed it down. And I keep pushing it down. There was always a reason to shut up and lie and never speak. My family was there. I wasn’t sure yet. I messed up. Kelly and Jack came into our lives, and you left. You died. I got you back and then Jack was missing, and I said- once we get mom and Jack back, I’ll say it. And things kept going. And going. And going.”  
“What do you want to say?” Cas said softly. Dean stood up, pouring the whiskey back into the bottle, dropping it on the floor. He walked to Cas, his eyes soft.  
“I don’t need you, Cas,” Dean said. “I can keep living without you. I can grow old without you. When you said that love is different than need, I realized something. I could live forever and never need you, but I can’t live a second without wanting you here. I don’t need you to be an angel. I don’t need you to be useful. I don’t need you to protect me. I want you to be happy. I want you to feel like you belong. And I want to tell you that I love you.”  
Dean pulled him in to a kiss. In the movies that Dean loved, there would’ve been a swell of music, perhaps a cut to the wedding day or some font that said happily ever after. There would have been a cowboy riding off into the sunset, large curved words declaring The End. All there was in this moment, however, was Cas and Dean, in the quiet, warm Bunker, Dean’s hand on Cas’s neck… Cas gently touching Dean’s shoulder, where he had claimed Dean as his own and raised him from perdition. It was just them, forever.  
“Where do we go from here?” Cas finally breathed. Dean looked at him, his eyes crinkled, so close that Cas could count the freckles on his nose.  
“We’re going to die tomorrow,” Dean said. “It doesn’t really matter. But the important thing is… we’re going out together.”  
“What about the Empty?”  
“We face it. Together.”  
Cas placed his hand on his own chest. He felt a steady drumming inside, the sound that he had heard so many times from Dean, Sam, and Jack. Cas smiled faintly, feeling the last weight fall away to reveal Cas… finally, and completely… Cas. Dean went over to the radio, turning it on. An old song crackled quietly over the speakers. Dean took Cas’s hands and they rocked back and forth, laughing, for the rest of the night. 

The stars were shining that night. Everyone from Sioux Falls to Lawrence could see them. Jody was driving home, Alex and Patience in her back seat, sound asleep. She could see the moon ahead of her, the lights of her house on in the distance, calling her home. She could almost hear Claire’s voice. Donna’s laughter. Kaia, tucking her hair in her ear as she complained about Claire cheating at Sorry, a smile in her eyes. Garth and Bess were tucking their kids into bed, planning for the battle that everyone knew would be coming, using their last uncertain hours to spend time with the people they loved the most. Jesse and Ceasar sat outside on their Ranch in Mexico, watching the sky. Ben Braeden sat at his bedroom window, wondering if it had all been a dream. Rowena watched as the sun began to set, uncertain of the future.

Although Dean didn’t believe in destiny, there seemed to be something written in the stars that night, a love letter from someone long ago, who had written them there out of spite of the monsters that had tried to control them. The Truth.


End file.
